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Monday, May 30, 2016

The Saint John Sea Dogs currently have
12 picks in this year’s draft, the team announced today. Saint John’s first
selection will be 11th overall, a pick they acquired in the Oliver
Cooper deal with the Charlottetown Islanders.

Here is Saint John’s full list of picks:

Round 1 - 11th overall

Round 3 - 51st overall

Round 4 - 69th overall

Round 5 - 87th overall

Round 6 - 105th overall

Round 7 - 123rd overall

Round 8 - 141st overall

Round 9 - 159th overall

Round 10 - 177th overall

Round 12 - 213th overall

Round 13 - 231st overall

Round 14 - 249th overall

The QMJHL Entry Draft takes place at 10
a.m. on Saturday at Charlottetown’s Eastlink Centre.

The Halifax Mooseheads
have the first overall pick. Forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx is ranked
first overall by QMJHL Central Scouting and HockeyProspect.com.

Sunday, May 29, 2016

(Ed. Note: This is an annual post that has been updated)It was five years ago tonight that Simon
Despres scored shorthanded, Zack Phillips netted the game-winner, Jonathan
Huberdeau secured the victory and Jacob DeSerres had the game of his life in
the Saint John net.

It’s hard to believe it has been five years since the Sea Dogs’ 3-1 win over the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors,
clinching the first Memorial Cup title for Atlantic Canada.

Tkachuk opened the scoring in the second
period but that was followed by goals from Francis Perron and Julien Nantel,
giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead in the third period. With 4:11 to go,
Christian Dvorak scored to tie things at 2-2 and send the match into overtime.

Both goaltenders had great games with
Tyler Parsons 29 saves in the win and Chase Marchand making 30 in the loss.

London breezed through the preliminary
round of this year’s Memorial Cup, going 3-0 with a +15 goal differential. This
was the first game that proved to be much of a challenge for the star studded
OHL champions.

The Knights hadn’t won the Memorial Cup
since 2005 – despite making three straight appearances from 2012 to 2014.
London lost in overtime in 2012 in Shawinigan.

This is the second straight year an OHL
team has won the Memorial Cup in overtime following the Oshawa Generals’ win
last year.

No QMJHL team has won the trophy since the
Halifax Mooseheads in 2013.

Saturday, May 28, 2016

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will play in
the 2016 Memorial Cup championship game.

The QMJHL champions advanced to the
national final with a 3-1 victory over the host Red Deer Rebels last night.
Francis Perron, Martins Dzierkals and Nikolas Brouillard scored for the Huskies
while Chase Marchand made 36 saves in the win.

Rouyn-Noranda is 2-2 at this year’s
tournament, dropping their final two games of the preliminary round. Their only
win prior to Friday's was last Saturday against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Not surprisingly, Timo Meier and Perron
lead the Huskies in scoring. Meier has five goals and two assists while Perron
has one goal and six assists.

The Huskies will face the OHL champion
London Knights, a team that has breezed through this year’s tournament. The
Knights, who are 3-0 with a +15 goal differential, haven’t played since Tuesday
where they defeated Rouyn-Noranda 5-2.

London’s Mitch Marner leads the
tournament in scoring with two goals and 11 assists in just three games.

The Huskies are playing in their first
Memorial Cup. No QMJHL team has appeared in the final since 2013 in Saskatoon
where the Halifax Mooseheads defeated the Portland Winterhawks.

The Knights, playing in their fifth Memorial Cup
since 2005 and fourth since 2012, will be playing in their third ever final.
They defeated Sidney Crosby’s Rimouski Oceanic on home ice in 2005 and fell to
the Cataractes in Shawinigan in 2012.

The host Red Deer Rebels are off to the
semifinal of the 2016 Memorial Cup.

Evan Polei scored at 3:50 of overtime to
give the Rebels a 2-1 victory over the WHL champion Brandon Wheat Kings last night,
earning the team a berth in Friday’s semifinal against the Rouyn-Noranda
Huskies.

The Rebels were eliminated by the Wheat
Kings in the WHL’s Eastern Conference final.

Red Deer finished the round robin
portion of the tournament with a 2-1 record and an even goal differential.
After losing the event’s opener to London, the Rebels went on to beat the
Huskies and Wheat Kings.

Meanwhile, after a solid opening win
over Brandon, Rouyn-Noranda lost to Red Deer and London, giving the team a 1-2
record. They’ve struggled to stay disciplined over the past two games –
although the officiating has been… something.

London, 3-0 with an incredible +15 goal
differential, has already advanced to Sunday’s championship game. Brandon has
been eliminated.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The 16-year-old forward, who has played
at Rothesay Netherwood School the past two seasons, has committed to the Sea
Dogs for the 2016-17 season, the team announced today.

Leblanc was a 13th-round pick
of the Sea Dogs in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft.

From the Sea Dogs’ news release:

The Dieppe-native recorded 19 goals and
44 points in 56 games with Rothesay Netherwood School in 2015-16, his second
season at RNS.

He also suited up for one regular season
game and 12 playoff games for his hometown Dieppe Commandos of the Maritime
Hockey League (MHL). The 5'10", 160-pounder earned an assist on Dieppe's
double-overtime, series-winning goal against the Summerside Western Capitals,
pushing the Commandos to the MHL's Kent Cup Final.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies face a huge
test at the 2016 Memorial Cup tonight.

The Huskies, 1-1 in this year’s
tournament, take on the OHL champion London Knights tonight at 11 p.m. in Red
Deer. The Knights are 2-0 with 6-2 and 9-1 wins over Red Deer and Brandon, respectively.

Rouyn-Noranda is coming off a tough 5-2
loss to the host Rebels on Sunday night. The Huskies allowed five straight
goals in the loss – including three power play markers – and lost their cool with the
officiating as the game went along.

The Knights have lived up to
expectations with 15 goals in two games. Mitch Marner leads the tournament in
scoring with nine points.

Felix Schutz and Germany had their 2016
IIHF World Championship come to an end in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
According to the box score, Schutz did not play in Germany’s 4-1 loss to
Russia. The former Sea Dogs forward had two goals and five assists in seven
tournament games.

In case you’ve forgotten, the QMJHL
Entry Draft takes place two weeks from Saturday (June 4) in Charlottetown.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

It's been five whole seasons since the Sea Dogs made their Memorial Cup debut in Mississauga.

Obviously, a lot has changed since then. Saint John went on to reach the tournament again in 2012 and then went into rebuild mode. They hadn't come close to making the Memorial Cup until this past season where they reached the QMJHL's final four.

We know how Saint John has performed over the past five seasons, but what about the other teams that participated in the 2011 Memorial Cup? Here's a look at how the host Mississauga St. Michael's Majors, OHL champion Owen Sound Attack and WHL champion Kootenay Ice have performed since then.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Felix Schutz and Germany are moving on
at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.

After winning four games in regulation to go along with two regulation loses and one overtime loss, Germany finished the preliminary
round with 13 points, which was good for third in Group B. The Germans will
play the host Russians in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Germany’s latest win was on Monday, a
4-2 victory over Hungary. Schutz finished the preliminary round with two goals
and five assists in seven games.

Who is at the Worlds? Is that fat
German pig Felix Schutz rolling around the ice?

Saturday, May 14, 2016

The Brandon Wheat Kings punched their
ticket to the tournament with a 8-4 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Game 5
of the WHL final last night. The Wheat Kings will join the host Red Deer
Rebels, QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and OHL champion London Knights.

The Wheat Kings last appeared in the Memorial Cup in 2010, when they hosted the tournament. Former Sea Dogs goaltender Jacob DeSerres was on that team.

The Memorial Cup begins next Friday with
the Rebels taking on the Knights at 9 p.m. The following day, the Huskies face
the Wheat Kings at 8 p.m.All three league champions had
tremendous seasons. Rouyn-Noranda (No. 1), London (No. 3) and Brandon (No. 7)
were all listed in the final CHL Top 10 ranking. Here's a look at how each performed this year:

League

Team

Reg. Season

Playoffs

QMJHL

Rouyn-Noranda

54-9-3-2

16-4

OHL

London

51-14-2-1

16-2

WHL

Brandon

48-18-4-2

16-5

Host

Red Deer

45-24-1-2

9-8

The Oshawa Generals won last year's Memorial Cup in Quebec City, defeating Kelowna 2-1 in overtime in the championship game.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Michael Kirkpatrick’s first season of
professional hockey came to a close on Wednesday – but what a season it was.

Kirkpatrick helped the Adirondack
Thunder – the East Coast Hockey League affiliate of the Calgary Flames – reach
the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they fell in seven games to the South
Carolina Stingrays. Wednesday's Game 7 went to double-overtime.

Kirkpatrick finished fourth in ECHL
playoff rookie scoring, posting two goals and seven assists in 12 games.
His nine points were good for third in team scoring.

In the regular season, Kirkpatrick
finished second in ECHL rookie scoring with 29 goals and 31 assists in 72 games. His
29 goals led all rookies and his 250 shots led the entire league. The North
Sydney native was the runner-up for the ECHL’s rookie of the year award.

The 26-year-old spent the previous four
seasons with the StFX X-Men. Prior to that, he played with the Sea Dogs from
2007-11.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies completed a
dominant season on Thursday night, defeating the Shawinigan Cataractes 7-2 in Game 5 of the QMJHL final to
win the franchise’s first President Cup championship.

Huskies captain Francis Perron, who finished the playoffs with 12 goals and 21 assists in 18 games, was named the post-season MVP.

The Huskies went 54-9-3-2 in the regular
season, finishing 11 points ahead of the next closest team. Other than a tough
semifinal series against the Moncton Wildcats, the Huskies cruised through the
playoffs, finishing 16-4 and a +57 goal differential.

This was just the second time
Rouyn-Noranda had reached the President Cup final. They lost to the Gatineau
Olympiques in 2008. Meanwhile, the Cataractes, who have been around forever, are still waiting for their first league title.

Nine different teams have now won the
President Cup over the past 10 seasons. The Sea Dogs are the only team to win two
during that timespan.

The Huskies will now represent the QMJHL
at the Memorial Cup in Red Deer. They’ll join the host Rebels, OHL champion
London Knights and the yet-to-be-determined WHL champion. The Brandon Wheat
Kings currently lead the WHL final 3-1 over the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The QMJHL champs begin the Memorial Cup
tournament on Saturday, May 21 against the WHL champion.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Luke Green was among the 114 players
invited to this year’s NHL Scouting Combine.

The annual event, which “gives all 30
NHL teams a complete physical and medical assessment of the top prospects three
weeks before the draft,” will be held May 30 to June 4 at Buffalo’s First Niagara Center and HarbourCenter.

Green, projected to be a mid-second to
third round pick by most scouting publications, had 10 goals and 25 assists in
61 regular season games with the Sea Dogs. He added a goal and two assists in
13 playoff contests.

In The Hockey News’ draft preview (which
is now available on newsstands), Green was projected to go 49th
overall.The 2016 NHL Draft takes place June 24-25 at First Niagara Center.Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Sunday, May 8, 2016

The Woodstock Slammers fell short in the
championship game of the Fred Page Cup on Sunday.

The Slammers lost 4-2 to the Carleton Place Canadians, who captured their third straight Fred Page Cup. The four-team
tournament, which features a host team, the MHL champion, the LHJQ champion and
CCHL champion, determines who will represent the east region at the RBC Cup, the national junior 'A' championship.

Woodstock was eliminated from the MHL
playoffs in the Eastlink North semifinals. Their last playoff game was on March
30.

The Slammers featured former Sea Dogs
Noah Zilbert and Mackenzie Brown. Familiar names Riley Craft and Jonny Erbs were also on the team.

Zilbert had a goal in Sunday’s contest,
giving him four goals and three assists in five Fred Page Cup games. Zilbert
had an impressive regular season, posting 28 goals and 84 points in 48 games,
which was good for second in league scoring.

In other news…

In non-alumni news, the Shawinigan Cataractes lost 2-1 to
the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Sunday and now trail the President Cup final 3-0.
Game four is on Tuesday night in Shawinigan. There hasn’t been a sweep in the
final since the Sea Dogs did so in 2012.

At the IIHF World Championship in
Russia, Felix Schutz was pointless and a -2 in Germany’s 5-1 loss to Finland on
Sunday.

Meanwhile, Robert Mayer made 22 saves in
Switzerland’s 4-3 overtime loss to Norway.

Lastly, Tomas Jurco had two assists in
Slovakia’s 5-1 victory over France. Jurco now has one goal and three assists in
two games.

Jurco recorded four goals and two
assists in 44 games with the Detroit Red Wings this season. He also had five
goals and four assists in five games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Jurco “could be moved
this summer in a trade package, so anything he does internationally will boost
his value.”

QMJHL Central Scouting released their 2016 rankings this week. MacDonald was the top ranked New Brunswick player
while Cole Harbour defenseman Jared McIsaac was the highest ranked Maritime
player at No. 2.

As expected, Gatineau forward
Benoit-Olivier Groulx was ranked first. Groulx “is a complete forward with
leadership qualities,” says a QMJHL press release. “He’s able to score goals,
is skilled at spotting a teammate which allows the game to progress.
Furthermore, his play without the puck in the three zones is above average.”

The Commissioner of the Quebec Major
Junior Hockey League, Gilles Courteau, announced that the game between the
Shawinigan Cataractes and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies is canceled following a
problem with the pipes under the ice. Saturday at noon, the Commissioner will
decide whether the ice surface is adequate for Game #2 to be played at 4:00 pm
in Rouyn-Noranda. A communication will be sent out to that effect. For the time
being, the rest of the schedule remains unchanged and the next game, according
to League rules, will have to restart from the beginning.

According to multiple media folks, if
the game can not be played tomorrow, game two would take place on Sunday in
Shawinigan, where game three was scheduled to take place. The schedule for the
series would have to be adjusted, possibly resulting in a 1-2-2-1-1 format.

According to US Hockey Report, Edson has
spent the past two seasons with St. John’s Prep, a high school in
Massachusetts. He recorded one goal and five assists in 24 games in his freshman
season (2014-15). Last year Edson registered four goals and eight assists in
23 contests.

He's a tall, lanky blue liner who is
still figuring out the game, but his first stride and how quickly he gets on
opposing forwards is notable to anyone who's seen him play. He's still a year
or two away, but he has pro upside with his size and physical tools.

The Sea Dogs have brought in several
American free agents over the past couple seasons and it seems that
trend will continue.

Gallant led the Panthers (47-26-9, 103
points) to the Atlantic Division title while setting franchise marks for wins
and points. Florida had a franchise-record 12 game win streak from Dec. 15 to
Jan 10, a record seven-game home win streak (Dec. 10 to Jan. 3) and a record
six-game road win streak (Dec. 15 to Jan. 10). In Gallant's second season
behind the bench for Florida, the Panthers improved by nine wins and 12 points
from a season ago. Gallant is a first-time award finalist.

Gallant coached the Sea Dogs for three
seasons from 2009-2012, leading the team to three straight league finals, three Maritime Division championships, two
President Cup titles and a Memorial Cup championship. He was an assistant coach
with the Montreal Canadiens from 2012-14 before joining the Panthers.

The Summerside native was named the CHL
coach of the year in 2010 and 2011.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

The QMJHL’s President Cup final begins
on Wednesday between the Shawinigan Cataractes and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Here
are our predictions for the series.

Lorne: The 2016 QMJHL playoff season has
pretty much gone according to Hoyle - except for the huge upset by
Blainville-Boisbriand over Val-d'Or in round one. And now the top two
seeds - and two of the three division winners - face-off for league supremacy.

Shawinigan took some time to jell -
notably after major changes during the midseason trading period as well as
bringing in a new head coach. But the Cataractes looked very good against Saint
John in the semifinals. Led by New York Islanders prospect Anthony Beauvillier,
Shawinigan boasts three very strong forward lines and a solid defence. Likely
most importantly, they are backstopped by one of the most successful
goaltenders in QMJHL history - Philippe Cadorette.

On the other hand, Rouyn-Noranda has
been one of the best teams in the entire CHL all season. And the strong got
stronger after Christmas with the addition of power forwards Timo Meier and AJ
Greer, along with star defenceman Nikolas Brouillard. Due largely to injuries
and suspensions to key players, the Huskies struggled somewhat in the
semifinals against Moncton. But led by league MVP Francis Perron, the Huskies
dug deep and made it through to the finals.

Shawinigan will provide stiff opposition
but I'm sticking with my choice from the beginning. It'll be dogs over
cats - Huskies in 6.

Monday, May 2, 2016

According to a CHL press release, “the
99th edition of the MasterCard Memorial Cup will take place May 18-28, 2017, at
Windsor’s WFCU Centre, featuring the host Spitfires along with the champions of
the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League, and the Quebec Major
Junior Hockey League.”

The QMJHL was once rumoured to be
hosting the 2017 tournament, and the Sea Dogs had expressed interest. But the
CHL opted to keep the current rotation in place. There has been plenty of
speculation that the 2018 Memorial Cup will also be held in Ontario and feature
a different format. But that has not been confirmed by the CHL.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will play the
Shawinigan Cataractes in the President Cup final.

The Huskies advanced to the league’s
championship series with a late comeback victory over the Moncton Wildcats this
afternoon. The Huskies, who were down 3-0 at one point in the second period,
scored three goals in the third period to beat Moncton 5-4 and win the
semifinal series in six games. The Wildcats were up 4-3 with three minutes left
in the game, but two goals by Rouyn-Noranda within a 1:02 span ended Moncton’s
season.

Shawinigan advanced to the league final
on Friday after eliminating the Saint John Sea Dogs in five games.

Neither club team won a QMJHL
championship previously The Huskies last appeared in the final in 2008 while the
Cataractes are making their first appearance since 2009.

The Huskies finished first overall in
the league standing while the Cataractes finished second. Rouyn-Noranda won
three of the four meetings between the two.